Have you seen the "ghost girl" superimposed on the Horsehead? Maybe she fell off the horse?APOD 25 November 2024 annotated.png
On a slightly more serious note: The Horsehead Nebula is a pillar, one of those ubiquitous structures that we see where there is nebulosity near hot stars. The hot star that is sculpting the Horsehead Nebula is Sigma Orionis:Sigma Orionis Chris Kjeldsen.pngSigma Orionis with surrounding nebulosity and pillars.
Note the Horsehead Nebula and other protrusions as well,
all pointing at Sigma Orionis. Credit: Chris Kjeldsen.
Pillars are formed when the harsh ultraviolet light and strong winds from a hot star blows away the nebular cloud that created it, but denser clumps of gas and dust resist destruction for a longer time. The clumps protect the area directly below them, creating the pillar-like shape.
We may note that Sigma Orionis may have had a nasty outburst in the direction of the Horsehead so that it smashed the original pillar's top down and made it concave, making one end of it hang down, creating the Horsehead effect.
APOD 25 November 2024 annotated 2.png
Ann
Cool discovery, the thing with the "ghost girl". In IR I would call her a mermaid and snake tamer.
Statistics: Posted by AVAO — Mon Nov 25, 2024 6:16 am — Replies 2 — Views 142